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prices in Europe during the 2022-2023 winter season pushed up Moldova’s gas bill above $1bn.
More recently, the average natural gas price paid by Moldova dropped to $568 per 1,000 cubic metres in Q3 2023, from $1,653 in Q3 2022, but it is still nearly twice the $310 price paid in Q3 2021.
The government has assured the population that it has contracts at reasonable prices for the coming winter season.
While the import prices have moderated from the spike in autumn-winter of 2022-2023, Moldova’s consumption may remain low as the prices are still historically high, and not likely to fall further. This will result in a moderately high energy bill, but scarce gas resources for the non-residential sector. On the upside, this will force structural reforms and encourage energy efficiency investments.
The shift from preferential to market prices has already resulted in better allocation of energy towards the value-added segments of the economy. Moldova’s economy contracted by 5% in 2022 and may further deteriorate marginally in 2023, but this is still a fraction of the radical contraction seen in the internal consumption of natural gas. Roughly speaking, the natural gas intensity decreased by some 40%, partly as waste was reduced and partly as key energy-intensive industries were shut down.
Romania and Moldova have signed a memorandum to integrate their energy markets. The two countries’ electricity networks will be linked by two new interconnections and the existing one will be strengthened. Romania’s market operator OPCOM will be designated as a market operator in Moldova as well. Moldova’s transport system operator Moldelectrica will be integrated into the balancing market operated by a subsidiary of the Romanian peer company Transelectrica. This is highly important for the development of intermittent green power generation units in Moldova, on a scale that cannot be accommodated by the country’s weak balancing capacity.
Regarding the natural gas market, the Ungheni-Chisinau pipeline will be enlarged and a circular pipeline will be built around the Moldovan capital city Chisinau. New natural gas deposits will be developed on the territory of Romania, to be used by Moldova, or existing deposits will be expanded.
7.8 Energy & Power - Montenegro
Montenegro has sought to limit the impact of the energy crisis on its population, while at the same time aiming to diversify its energy sources, looking to investments in LNG and renewables.
In December, Montenegro’s government decided it would not allow an increase of electricity prices for households despite a decision of the transmission system operator Crnogorski Elektroprenosni Sistem (CGES) to increase its prices. To avoid electricity price hikes for
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